| ←Previous | Bahá’í News Issue 414 |
Next→ |
 Proofread onceReturn to PDF view
|
| No. 414 | BAHA’I YEAR 122 | SEPTEMBER, 1965 |
It is estimated that almost 700 persons
attended the fortieth annual Unity Feast
under the renowned “Big Tree” at Geyserville Bahá’í School in California, held
this year on July 4. That the Bahá’í
Faith is indeed a World Faith was
demonstrated by the presence of persons from as far away as Greece,
Turkey, Rumania, Persia, and Africa.
Auxiliary Board member William Maxwell, the guest speaker, addressed the
gathering on the subject: The Oneness
of Mankind. The first Unity Feast at
Geyserville was held on August 2, 1925
in celebration of the seventieth birthday
anniversary of Mr. John D. Bosch who
donated the property which has been
occupied by the Geyserville Bahá’í
School since 1927.
Universal House of Justice Announces Passing of Leroy Ioas[edit]
“GRIEVED ANNOUNCE PASSING OUTSTANDING HAND CAUSE LEROY IOAS. HIS LONG SERVICE BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY UNITED STATES CROWNED ELEVATION RANK HAND FAITH PAVING WAY HISTORIC DISTINGUISHED SERVICES HOLY LAND. APPOINTMENT FIRST SECRETARY GENERAL INTERNATIONAL BAHÁ’Í COUNCIL PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE GUARDIAN FAITH TWO INTERCONTINENTAL CONFERENCES ASSOCIATION HIS NAME BY BELOVED GUARDIAN OCTAGON DOOR BÁB’S SHRINE TRIBUTE SUPERVISORY WORK DRUM DOME THAT HOLY SEPULCHER NOTABLE PART ERECTION INTERNATIONAL ARCHIVES BUILDING ALL ENSURE HIS NAME IMMORTAL ANNALS FAITH. LAID TO REST BAHÁ’Í CEMETERY CLOSE FELLOW HANDS. ADVISE HOLD BEFITTING MEMORIAL SERVICES.”
THE hearts of countless Bahá’ís throughout the world
are saddened by the passing of Leroy Ioas, Hand
of the Cause of God. The entire Bahá’í world has tasted
of the fruit of his labors for the Cause that was the
supreme object of his endeavors and upon which he
spent a lifetime of prodigious talent and energy. Most
of all he is remembered for his close association with
the beloved Guardian, after he was called to Haifa by
Shoghi Effendi in 1952 to assist in the overwhelming
burdens of the work at the World Center. Here he became Assistant Secretary for Shoghi Effendi and was
charged with the supervision of the construction of the
dome of the Báb’s Sepulcher, a service which culminated in the Guardian’s naming one of the doors of the
Shrine itself the Báb-i-Ioas, as a tribute to his work.
He later performed a similar service in the construction of the International Archives building.
Leroy Ioas was elevated to the rank of a Hand of the Cause on December 24, 1951. In April of 1952, he was appointed by Shoghi Effendi as Secretary-General of the first International Bahá’í Council, which office he held until the election of the second International Bahá’í Council in April of 1961.
In February 1953, Mr. Ioas was sent by Shoghi Effendi as his personal representative to the African Intercontinental Conference in Kampala, Uganda, to “elucidate the character and purposes of the impending decade-long World Crusade and rally the participants to energetic, sustained, enthusiastic prosecution of the colossal tasks ahead.” In September of 1958, he performed the same mission in Singapore at the last of the five similar Intercontinental conferences planned by the Guardian before his death.
Though frail in health, Mr. Ioas came to the United States as the representative of the Hands of the Faith in the Holy Land to attend the 1964 National Convention. Following this, he spent several months travelling across the southern part of the country on a teaching trip that was a spiritual enrichment to those privileged to hear him and a source of much joy to Mr. Ioas whose heart had always been dedicated to the teaching work. Following his return to Haifa, his health steadily declined and finally after a lengthy period of hospitalization he passed away on July 22. He has been laid to rest in the Bahá’í cemetery in Haifa close by His fellow Hands of the Cause from the United States, Mr. Horace Holley and Mrs. Amelia Collins. A memorial service will be held for him at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette on October 16 at 8 p.m.
Prior to going to Haifa, Mr. Ioas was known throughout America and especially in the western states for his intensive and constant teaching activities. He was active in the establishment of Geyserville School, in the organization of race unity conferences, as chairman
Hand of the Cause Mr. Leroy Ioas by the door named for him at the Shrine of the Báb.
of the National Teaching Committee for many
years and also served on the first European Teaching
Committee. His membership on the National Spiritual
Assembly from 1933 to 1945 and from 1949 to 1951 was
a vital contribution to the Faith, where he served for
a number of years as treasurer.
Leroy Ioas was born into a distinguished Bahá’í family, his parents having been active supporters of the Faith before the Master’s visit to America who greeted
[Page 3]
‘Abdu’l-Bahá in 1912 when He came to Chicago. Many
of the Bahá’í friends have heard him speak of the profound effect the presence of the Master had upon him,
even though he was very young at the time. It brought
much happiness to him that his own family served the
Faith wholeheartedly. His wife and lifelong companion,
Sylvia, sustained him in all his efforts and herself was
appointed to the first International Bahá’í Council and
elected to the second Council. Both of their daughters,
Anita and Farrukh, pioneered in America and abroad,
Farrukh having passed away following a five-year period of pioneering in the World Crusade in Europe.
When Leroy Ioas spoke about the beloved Guardian whom he had served so many years and whose call he had answered with such a ready loyalty, he evoked in the hearts of his listeners a spirit of love and a determination to serve that was not easily forgotten. That he had the power to lift the individual to that spiritual plane and stir him to action in the path of God, in a way that was not only deeply moving but profoundly dignified, was further proof of the capacity of this servant of Bahá’u’lláh to be a channel of His inspiration.
“Every Bahá’í must turn and give themselves to God. It makes no difference what the responsibility is, national spiritual assembly, local spiritual assembly, pioneering, all must become channels; until he does, he cannot do full service to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.” These words followed Mr. Ioas’ tribute to Shoghi Effendi at the Conference in Singapore, one of the most inspiring word pictures ever drawn of the beloved Guardian. [BAHÁ’Í NEWS, December, 1958]
At this same Conference, he spoke of an evening in Haifa when the Guardian, weary and pressed from work and not far from the time of his own passing, spoke entirely on spiritual things, saying, let us enter the door of heaven and forget for a few minutes. “It was the most beautiful I ever heard,” said Leroy Ioas.
To those countless friends who loved him, it is enough to know that this faithful soldier who bore a lifetime of cares and labors in the Cause of God, has entered that door of heaven to join his beloved leader; and that he has reinforced that heavenly army that gives strength to those of us who remain in the arena of earthly action. This helps to assuage some of the grief and loss we feel at the passing of this “lion” of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, this revered Hand of the Cause who was to have been the representative of the Universal House of Justice at the Intercontinental Conference in October of 1967, in Wilmette, to commemorate the centenary of Bahá’u’lláh’s proclamation of His Message to the kings and rulers of the world.
First Bahá’í Enrolled in Grand Turk Island[edit]
Dan Conner, Bahá’í youth of Chicago, Illinois, on July 19 reported the enrollment in the Bahá’í Faith of the first member of the Turks Caicos Island group in the British West Indies. He is Mr. Joseph Astwood of Grand Turk Island. Mr. Connor arrived in Grand Turk Island about July 1 for two months and within a week had made many friends, had made two speaking engagements with local churches, and started plans for a public meeting.
Delegates attending the recent convention in Panama.
The National Convention of the Bahá’ís of Spain with the newly elected National Assembly shown at right: (left to right seated) Isidro Torrella, José López Monge, Ramón Escartín and Antonio Jiménez; (left to right standing) Carlos Chías, Miguel Medina, Emilio Egea, Fernando Sanz, Rouhollah Mehrabkhani.
Embryos of Mighty Institutions of the Future[edit]
In its Riḍván 1965 Message to the Bahá’í world, the Universal House of Justice, placed before the Bahá’ís of the world four “challenging and immediate tasks.” The third of the four stresses need for “the speedy acquisition” of the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, Temple Sites, National Endowments and Teaching Institutes called for in the Nine Year Teaching Plan. “These basic possessions are the embryos of mighty institutions of the future,” the Message reads, “but it is this generation, which, for its own protection and as its gift to posterity, must acquire them.” By acquiring them in the early years of the Plan, the Universal House of Justice says we will thereby “liberate the energies and resources of the growing world community for a concentrated, resolute and relentless pursuit in its later stages of great victories whose foundations are now being laid.”
Hazíratu’l-Quds[edit]
Ranking as one of the most important institutions of each national Bahá’í community, and pivot of all Bahá’í administrative activity in the future, is the national Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds. The Guardian in God Passes By tells us that the name signifies “the Sacred Fold.” Complementary in its functions to those of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, this institution, he says, will in the future include the secretariat, the treasury, archives, a library, the publishing office, an assembly hall, a council chamber and a pilgrim’s hostel. He further says: “When these parts are brought together and are made jointly to operate in one spot, the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds will be increasingly regarded as the focus of all Bahá’í administrative activity, and will symbolize the ideal of service animating the Bahá’í community in its relationship alike to the Faith and to mankind in general.” Meanwhile the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds will serve primarily as the national administrative center, but also, through suitable social and educational activities, as a center for teaching the Faith.
Under the beloved Guardian’s direction there were in existence in 1963 fifty-six national Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds valued at $1,800,000. Now the Universal House of Justice in its Nine Year Plan calls for fifty-two more: Africa, 26; America, 4; Asia, 13; Australasia, 7; and Europe, 2. Of this number twenty can be acquired by the conversion of twenty existing local Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds into national Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds.
Temples and Temple Sites[edit]
By the end of the Ten-Year Crusade, the Bahá’ís of the world could proudly proclaim the existence of four Bahá’í Houses of Worship, one in each continent except Asia, and the possession of sites for forty-six more to be erected in the future. Only the erection of the Temple in Teheran had not been accomplished, but in its stead there was the Temple in Kampala, Africa, not originally called for in the Guardian’s World Crusade. The Universal House of Justice, therefore, has made the erection of the House of Worship in Teheran one of the goals of the Nine Year Plan, and added to it is the building of a Temple in Panama. Bahá’í architects have been invited to submit designs for the Panama Temple by the end of 1965 and the laying of the cornerstone is scheduled to be part of the Intercontinental Conference in Panama in October 1967.
A large increase in the number of Temple sites is also called for in the Plan — sixty-two in all. These will be spread as follows: Africa, 27; America, 7; Asia, 14; Australasia, 7; Europe, 7. The Universal House of Justice reminds us that “the speedy conclusion of these projects will save tremendous expense later and endow the Faith with increasingly valuable properties.”
Endowments[edit]
The endowments that the believers have been called upon to acquire, both by the Guardian and now the Universal House of Justice, also give prestige and stature to the Faith in every country where it has been established. Each National Spiritual Assembly as it has been organized has been required to establish first a Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds and then to acquire a piece of land or a house, however small, for an endowment. Thus, by the end of the Ten-Year Crusade all fifty-six National Spiritual Assemblies owned property other than their national headquarters and Temple sites. The value of these endowments in 1963 was $10,500,000, half of this being in the United States.
Under the Nine Year Plan of the Universal House of Justice fifty-four more national endowments are to be acquired: Africa, 27; America, 4; Asia, 13; Australasia, 7; Europe, 3.
For “the speedy acquisition” of all these properties so essential to the unfoldment of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, funds are needed. The Universal House of Justice has appealed to all believers, no matter how deprived they may be in terms of material possessions, to contribute regularly and to the point of sacrifice to their National Funds and to the International Bahá’í Fund. The Temples we now so proudly possess reflect the sacrifices of thousands of Bahá’ís all over the world, many of them no longer living. Many of the newer Bahá’ís have been deprived of the blessed bounty of contributing to the erection of first Temples, but to this generation is given the sacred privilege of making “its gift to posterity” by insuring “the speedy acquisition” of “the embryos of mighty institutions of the future,” called for in this first world-wide plan of the newly formed supreme institution of the Faith, the Universal House of Justice.
Note: For details as to where the properties mentioned in this article are to be acquired see the booklet Analysis of the Nine Year International Teaching Plan of the Bahá’í Faith by the Universal House of Justice.
Nayriz — Scene of Vahid’s Heroism[edit]
EDITORIAL NOTE: This is another in a series of articles written by
Guy Murchie from his diary kept on his journey to Irán in 1964 and
printed with the permission of the Universal House of Justice. The
photos were taken by Mr. Murchie on his journey.
March 25
The Journey to Nayriz[edit]
We set out this morning at 6 a.m. to visit Nayríz, some 100 miles southeast of Shíráz, site of the greatest siege in the early Bahá’í history of southern Persia, which occurred in 1850. As we bounced over the rough gravel road eastward into the rising sun, we soon reached Lake Maharloo, a salt sea about twenty miles long, around which melons are grown not much differently than they were in the Báb’s day. Outcrops of chrome ore were visible in the nearby mountains and, I was told, several chrome mines are in operation in the area. The only trees were in fruit orchards such as reddish pomegranite groves near the lake and neat rows of fig trees along the lower slopes of the foothills. Wild mustard in bloom made an occasional patch of yellow, while larks and wagtails ran across the road amid faint clouds of dust hanging on the still morning air.
Sarvestan[edit]
In Sarvestan, a flat-roofed mud village, we passed the old homes of many 19th-century martyrs of our Faith who had been executed in Shíráz by shooting them from the mouths of cannon. Later we climbed into hilly sagebrush country with almonds in bloom. In an oasis of two or three houses amid willows we stopped for breakfast of papery bread, tea in tiny glasses, fried eggs, raw onion and yogurt, the traditional fare of well-to-do merchants here. An old woman nearby in pants was churning butter in a goatskin rigged on a frame with a cord for easy shaking. Others in yellow flowery clothes were sorting and cleaning wheat. An old man was killing a lamb against the ground by slowly slitting its throat with a big knife. On our way again, we passed occasional mud forts with round towers at the corners and straw-topped walls, a black nomad tent here and there, and flowers such as red poppies and others resembling the tall, pale asphodels of southern Europe. Twice we overtook camel caravans and, more often, saw large flocks of sheep and goats, sometimes near their folds made of brambles arranged in a circular corral for defense against the wolves. That these marauders are a real menace was evident from the sticks, cudgels and woven slings carried by the shepherds. One of our passengers mentioned having been attacked by three wolves this past winter in Azerbaijan while walking alone between villages on a pioneering trip, but he took to his heels and, with the help of a few stones as missles, somehow managed to reach a house.
Some of the narrower ravines we passed through, I was told, were favorite haunts of highwaymen who frequently robbed and sometimes killed passersby. But the only inhabitants of the area we met were goats and black, scrawny cattle and once a dervish or tramp carrying his bowl and bubble pipe and standing,
Entrance to the Fort of Khajih in Nayríz where Vahíd was besieged.
curiously enough, next to a whirling dust devil
that had sprung up beside the road. Looking over
some of the garden walls into fig orchards, we could
see lush grass growing under the trees where, I was
told, were thousands of autumn crocuses, the stigma of
which make an orange-colored threadlike food called
saffron commonly used for flavoring Persian stews.
Lake Nayriz[edit]
After nearly four hours of driving, including a stop to fix a flat tire, we descended from a high pass where snow was visible on mountain crags to salty Lake Nayríz about eighty miles long and sprawling across a wide, gradual valley surrounded by beautiful rocky mountains, some sienna-colored, others ochred, brownish and purplish with overlayers of weathered gray. Igneous volcanic mounds rose like small Gibraltars here and there along the lakeside where the ground was sometimes streaked in red and often punctuated with small meandering streams which, as we approached the town, were seen to be the sources of irrigation projects. Now a few swallows skimmed over our heads as we overtook a file of donkeys bearing brush to fuel the bakeries and public baths.
Nayríz, like other Persian towns, is made out of the earth surrounding it so its mud walls perfectly match the valley floor. Although almost all the houses are low and flat-roofed, there is one big ancient temple, now used as a mosque, that is said to antedate the Muslim era and is a place where God presumably was once worshipped only in the form of the sun, moon and stars.
[Page 6]
Vahíd’s room in the Fort of Khajih in Nayríz where he
lived during the siege. Note fireplace (right) and door
(left) leading to the ladder to the corner tower (about
15 feet high) where Vahíd could view the enemy.
Fort of Khajih[edit]
We drove directly around the town to the Fort of Khajih on the far outskirts, a holy spot famous for the siege of 1850 where illustrious Vaḥíd and his few score of Bábí followers held off the Sháh’s army until they were martyred by foul treachery. The fort occupies several acres and is roughly square, its walls made of mud with straw for a binder and embedded with stones in a few places, the towers rising to about fifteen feet high at the corners. The whole fort now serves as a sort of citadel or walled village like Irbil in ‘Iráq or Carcassonne in France with many families dwelling there and children, donkeys, dogs and chickens moving freely about. The well that Vaḥíd’s men dug near the gate is still being used and Vaḥíd’s own room, at the corner nearest the town from which attack was most expected, seems to be just as he left it. It contains a charming little fireplace as well as a brazier or sunken fire pit in the brick floor, and the walls are indented with niches in traditional Persian style. They appear to be made of plastered mud but sound hollow to a rap as if they had flaked or crumbled inside. To the left of the fireplace is a doorway into a dark passage leading to the tower up which Vaḥíd was wont to climb to his lookout station in order to keep track of the enemy. Before leaving of course we chanted and recited prayers in this quarter of the fort.
Between the fort and the town is a swift-flowing stream of good, clear mountain water along which graceful old willows and plane trees grow, the largest of the planes being famed because Vaḥíd often held meetings under it while rallying his men before the siege. The number of his loyal Bábí followers was pathetically small at first and, it is recorded (in The Dawn Breakers, p. 486) that Vaḥíd’s second sally against the thousands of troops surrounding the fort numbered only fifteen including half a dozen boys and several old men, one of the best of whom was a wiry ninety-year-old shoemaker. These inspired heroes actually fought hand-to-hand on this occasion for eight hours in darkness, demoralizing the enemy and accounting for sixty dead and more than a hundred seriously wounded by dawn.
There is little sign left of this fierce fighting in the gentle, carpeted plain around the fort where wild vetch grows with its fragrant, lavender blossoms, wild mustard, grape hyacinths, Persian clover, wild geraniums, silver weed, forget-me-nots, fescues grass (known for its resistance to trampling), wild brome grass and mint so pungent you can smell it sometimes in the fort itself. The streams too are in bloom now with the small white blossoms of watercress, floating lilies, ferns and knot grass.
Vahid’s Tomb[edit]
After leaving the fort we saw Vaḥíd’s tomb with its pointed dome, then walked over to the nearby graveyard where, two generations later, the famous eighteen martyrs of 1904 were buried. These unfortunates, having attracted attention through their courageous devotion to their Faith, were dragged from their homes in Nayríz and brutally killed on the very day that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá placed the holy remains of the Báb in the Shrine on Mount Carmel, about a thousand miles away in Haifa. One of us chanted ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablet of Visitation as we stood at this spot, thinking of the meaning of His statement that these eighteen martyrdoms were a sacrifice taken by God on the occasion of the arrival of the Báb’s remains at His final resting place.
Another episode in Bahá’í history that happened here in 1850 was the arrival of large government reinforcements shortly after Vaḥíd’s death when the Sháh had given orders to exterminate the hundreds of Bábís still remaining in the region. One Mírzá ‘Alí Sardar, who had been chosen to succeed Vaḥíd, had already mustered a sizeable company of Bábís with the idea of avenging Vaḥíd, but, when it became obvious that the Bábís could not overwhelm the tens of thousands of soldiers with artillery closing in on them, and the fort was clearly too feeble to withstand prolonged bombardment with cannonballs, the Bábís made a strategic retreat to the mountains and found caves with streams to water them. There they built eighteen fortresses in the vertical ravines, visible from Nayríz, and there they held off the besiegers for many months, even capturing cannon by bold forays and hauling them up the ravines, and of course sending out frequent scouts and messengers to bring supplies and information. There were trees all over these mountains at the time, one of the commonest kinds being the wild almond which provided much-needed food, and even the valleys were wooded here and there, though few trees are left today. But despite these meagre blessings and all their courageous efforts, of course the embattled Bábís could not withstand the Sháh’s hordes and their constant replacements forever and eventually they suffered their hundreds of separate martyrdoms in the long heartrending campaign as the royal troops brutally dragged off women and children, usually torturing any men left alive, finally beheading living prisoners and dead bodies alike until they had collected some 400 Bábí heads to display in their triumphal processions.
A Meeting at Nayriz[edit]
Leaving the graveyard, we repaired for a sort of picnic lunch in a very beautiful Bahá’í garden full of trees and swift streams. Besides willows, walnuts and planes, there were many kinds of fruit trees: apple, pear, apricot, plum, quince, pomegranite, peach, mulberry, almond and plantains. Under a low, old grape arbor on a Persian carpet that literally reached from stream to stream (two of them being only eight feet apart), we sat and partook of rice, lamb loaf, salted fish, carrots, paper bread, yogurt and water from the streams that seemed really “sweet scented” as they gurgled by in that blossomy setting with birds twittering just above us and blue-bodied, black-winged dragonflies alighting on green blades that grew out of the water. We saw a turtle plodding through the garden and we ate green almonds off the trees. Then for half an hour we lay down and slept on the carpet, some of the Persians putting handkerchiefs over their heads for extra shade.
Before starting back to Shíráz we attended a special Bahá’í meeting at the Nayríz Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds which was crowded with hundreds of eager but rather bewildered-looking people. After prayers, talks and some discussion, several children recited poetry, which is as popular in Persia as baseball in America, contests in it being broadcast regularly over the radio and TV. For the past two years, I was informed with pride, a twenty-two year-old girl in Shíráz has been “national champion” in the poetry quoting tournament in which each contestant in turn must quote a line beginning with the last letter of the previous line quoted. Indeed public statues in Persia, one is glad to see, are less often of generals than of famous poets.
Participants at the annual Convention gathered in front of the national center, The Hague, Holland.
European Conference in Bern, Switzerland, June 12 —
13, 1965, attended by the Hands of the Cause in Europe,
Auxiliary Board members and National Assemblies,
which stressed need for pioneers and discussed other
aspects of the Nine Year Plan. More than 70 attended.
Swiss-Sponsored Program Given in German Temple[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Switzerland sponsored a “Swiss Day” at the Bahá’í House of Worship near Frankfurt/Main, Germany on June 6, 1965. Thirty-five Swiss Bahá’ís participated from all of the various language regions. Readings were given in French, German and Italian and a prayer set to music by a Swiss Bahá’í was rendered. About 400 guests were present, most of them German visitors to this Mother Temple of Europe.
Ireland[edit]
Two members of the Belfast Assembly and one member of the Greenisland group, in Ireland, are serving on the United Nations Association committee appointed for International Cooperation Year. Lisbeth Greeves represents the Bahá’í Faith, Jane Villiers-Stuart the United Nations Association and Keith Munro the Northern Ireland Council of Social Services.
Although this committee was not able to prepare a float for the Lord Mayor’s show on May 22, the Bahá’ís asked for permission to prepare one and won first prize for it in its section. The committee members are also serving on a number of sub-committees for other special UN projects.
News from Vietnam[edit]
The Bahá’ís in Phan-Rang have built houses for flood victims who are non-Bahá’ís. This has been greatly appreciated and teaching work is going well there.
Mr. Pham-Huu-Chin is teaching the Faith in Quang-Ngai province and the Bahá’í Community in Binh-Son has been reactivated. Binh-Son and Binh-Thang communities have made their Bahá’í Assembly and now have a place for regular meetings.
A Bahá’í Center in Trinh-Hoa, Phu-Nhieu village has been constructed and the furniture and decoration are being completed.
The Bahá’ís in Ba-Xuyen, Chuong-Thien, Dinh-Tuong, Thanh-Khiet, Kien-Tan have found places to use as centers and Bahá’í assemblies have been formed.
In spite of the war, the Bahá’í Teaching Committee in North Central Vietnam is teaching the Faith and holds public meetings wherever possible.
First British Honduras Institute is Harbinger of Future Progress[edit]
Utilizing the visit to British Honduras of Auxiliary Board member Artemus Lamb and his wife, the recently formed Local Spiritual Assembly of Burrell Boom held the First Teaching Institute of British Honduras on Saturday and Sunday, June 12-13, 1965, in Boom, in the home of Bahá’í settler, Mrs. Cora H. Oliver. Believers from Belize City made the trip of around twenty miles each day, to participate.
The program planned by the Boom Community was executed by Artemus Lamb, assisted by the pioneers Dee Lamb, Shirley Warde and Cora Oliver. Much time was allotted for discussion and questions. The Chairman of the Boom Assembly opened the Institute, explained the purpose, and introduced Mr. Lamb, well known to the believers from past visits, and who represents the Hands in this area.
The entire first day was spent in study and discussion of the Covenant and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Saturday evening the friends enjoyed Bahá’í songs and local music. Sunday morning an inspiring study of the Guardian and his Plans, beginning with the opening of Latin America in 1937 up to the present day, prepared the way for the afternoon session, which was devoted to the study of the Divine Institutions, including the Universal House of Justice and the Nine-Year Plan. It culminated with a study of the present goals of the Plan for British Honduras, its current stage of development, and suggestions for future growth.
The spiritual atmosphere, love and unity, which permeated the Institute, and the receptive capacity of the believers, was reflected in the countenances and comments of those who participated, and augurs well for the future development of the Faith in this country. Below are a few expressions from British Honduras Bahá’ís who attended:
“I’m still filled with it — I’m living it over and over again.” “It was fruitful.” “It provided an opportunity to know other believers.” “It made me feel different.” “It was very warm and friendly. It made me feel they were really brothers and sisters.” “It was inspiring and made me want to get into action.” “It was very instructive — something we should repeat.” “I was inspired — and educated.”
First Bahá’í teaching Institute held in British Honduras, at Burrell Boom June 12 and 13, 1965.
|
The South Pacific Ocean Convention held for the first time in Nuku’alofa, capital city of the Kingdom of Tonga. In addition to the Tongan Bahá’ís, believers came from Fiji and Western Samoa. Delegates from the Gilbert Islands could not attend, due to lack of transportation. National Assembly members elected were: Steve Percival (chairman), Latu Tu’akihekola, Mosese Hokafonu, Lisiate Maka (vice chairman), Mrs. Mary Tuataga (recording secretary), Mrs. Irene Williams (secretary /treasurer), Mabel Sneider, Joe Russell and Rick Welland. A Teaching Conference was held prior to the Convention on Universal Participation. |
A New Law For The Solomon Islands[edit]
The Solomon Islands Bahá’ís are thrilled to be able to share the news that as a direct result of their efforts, aided by the former Regional Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the South Pacific, a new law has come into existance, which will enable not only the newly formed National Spiritual Assembly of the South-West Pacific to become incorporated, but all local spiritual assemblies in the Solomon Islands as well.
When the first Spiritual Assembly in the Solomon Islands was formed at Honiara in 1955, it was not able to become incorporated as no appropriate legislation was in existance. The legal committee of the Local Spiritual Assembly recommended that the matter should be referred to the Regional Spiritual Assembly of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji. The Regional Spiritual Assembly then took legal advice, and as a result of this, a Suva solicitor was commissioned to prepare a bill intended for the establishment of charitable trusts in the Solomon Islands.
As soon as the draft bill was completed it was forwarded to Honiara, where the Bahá’í legal committee notified the government that the Bahá’ís of Honiara felt that the bill was badly needed and to this end they were asking a member of the legislative assembly to present it as a private member’s bill at the next session of the legislative assembly. As soon as the judicial department sighted the proposals, they enthusiastically received them and requested permission for the government itself to present the bill to the assembly.
The bill was duly presented at the December session of the legislative assembly where it received warm praise and support from government and non-government members alike. It received the assent of the Queen’s official representative on December 29, 1964.
Even though all the members of the legislative assembly were not aware who had prepared the bill, the government itself knew it well enough. This can do nothing but good to improve the relationship between the Bahá’í community and the government.
Bahá’í Youth Trained for Summer Service Projects at Two Bahá’í Schools[edit]
The Summer Projects Program for the Bahá’í youth of the United States had its spontaneous and spectacular inception at Riḍván, 1964 and began its swift development with a youth training session at Davison Bahá’í School to precede the actual summer project work.
This training period proved to be a vital and invaluable aspect of the 1964 summer youth program and was repeated this year, but at two schools instead of one: Davison, Michigan, for the youth of the eastern part of the United States, and Geyserville, California, for those living in the western states. Separate committees were appointed to work out all the details, including the selection of teachers, screening the applicants when necessary, and to work out plans with the local spiritual assemblies in the communities requesting a Summer Youth Project. The latter included arrangements for housing, supervision, and chaperoning the youth assigned to their projects.
Because of the projects awaiting them following the training sessions, all youth enrolled for the sessions felt they had specific goals toward which to work. Speaking on her experience at the Davison training session, Auxiliary Board member Mrs. Florence Mayberry said: “They were serious, devoted Bahá’ís.... Their vitality was being channeled into service.... This is a marvelous, happy, working way to train our youth.
“The keenest attention, best attendance at classes, and most enthusiastic response occurred at this session. Frequently, the young people reacted with such inspiration and enthusiasm that they arose as one at the end of the various classes, applauding.... I wish every Bahá’í youth in the country could have attended. This is one of the major ways in which they can be trained in morals and service, and in responsibility.”
Following are reports from the two sessions, held respectively June 13-20 and June 21-28.
Davison Bahá’í Youth Training Session[edit]
The Davison Youth Training Session for the 1965 Bahá’í Summer Youth Projects in the Eastern U.S. was lauded by Mrs. Florence Mayberry in the final hour of her informative and inspirational class, as “one of the most exhilarating teaching experiences of my entire Bahá’í life!” With spontaneous accord, the youth arose from their seats, applauding and in tears, as if in expression to all present that this week-long, rigorous and demanding training schedule had indeed been one of the most exhilarating “learning” experiences of their Bahá’í lives! “You are the Hosts of the Lord,” she said, “most often when you are least conscious of it. Go forward!”
This year’s expanded Project plans began with an inspirational and practical training week at Davison, June 13-20. Its purpose was to galvanize and speed-train the volunteer youth as an “army” — “the Invincible Army of Bahá’u’lláh.” As though it were a “spiritual boot-camp,” this training session sought to discipline and deepen, through intensive lecture courses, group
Those attending the 1965 Youth Project Training Session at Davison, Michigan.
[Page 11]
participation sessions and practical work-shop preparation, these youthful warriors of the Faith for the spiritual battles of the present hour — and to train them for
participation, by means of service, resourcefulness,
obedience, and intensive teaching tactics, in the nationally sponsored Summer Youth Projects.
Each class and outstanding teacher present offered an invaluable and unique contribution to this intense training program. The early morning class, “The Hosts of God,” covered the historical growth of the Faith and many of its heroes, the Covenant and development of the administrative order, the Nine Year Plan of the Universal House of Justice, and the glorious station of the “true believer” among the “Hosts of God.” The class following this one, brilliantly conceived and dramatically executed, centered upon ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, as Servant, Person, Center of the Covenant, and unique and perfect criterion for the daily life of each Bahá’í. Following this stimulating session, each youth eagerly absorbed the forceful, but lovingly presented, content of the third morning class, entitled “The Indomitable Weapon: An Illumined Character” which developed with comprehensive simplicity the abstract concept of the “source of religious morality” to its practical application on a Summer Youth Project, in terms of appearance, behavior, language, cleanliness, courtesy, and “curfew — 11:30 P.M.!”
The afternoon sessions varied from lecture, discussion, and work-shop orientation for specific project assignments to youth-prepared public presentations. Regularly included were two specific courses: “Teaching the Faith Through Music” and “The Most Challenging Issue: the Pivotal Battle.” Each evening program also presented a vital and challenging message; and no curfew seemed late enough, so engrossing and exciting were the conversations, the group singing, the spontaneous story-telling fests, and the fascinating new friendships.
The Projects and the Training Session have been abundantly blessed by the prayers, co-operation and financial contributions of individuals and communities across the nation and by the invaluable services of the following teachers and staff members at Davison: Auxiliary Board Members, Mrs. Florence Mayberry and Mrs. Beth McKenty, Dr. and Mrs. David Ruhe, Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh, Mr. Douglas Martin, Mrs. Jane McCants, Mr. Glenford Mitchell, Dr. Peter Khan, Dr. Allan Ward, Miss Janet Cutler, Mr. Ken Jeffers, Mr. James Keene, and Mrs. Nancy Larson. And the school was efficiently and lovingly managed by Mr. Emmanuel Reimer and his capable staff.
In the closing hour of the Training Session each participating youth was encouraged to speak briefly from the fullness of his heart before he returned to his home community with the hope of launching his own at-home project there or began the trip to that special project to which he had been assigned by the national committee: whether to work on the Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina; with underprivileged Negro children in Washington D.C.; in the skillfully organized integral teaching campaigns of Chicago, Indianapolis, or Rochester, Minnesota; in the rural tutoring programs of Conyers, Georgia or Gretna, Louisiana; in the virgin territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands; in Pontiac, Michigan; Green Acre, Maine; Champaign, Illinois or other “at-home” project developments too numerous to mention. Would it were possible that every Bahá’í could have had the experience of hearing these youth! They could not wait to go forward, to get to their teaching work!
Though severely restricted in material resources, still limited in disciplined educational training, and like the early Bábis, lacking the benefits of mature experience, their hearts are aflame with the unquenchable fire of the Faith. They have the capacity, as the irrefutable words of the Beloved Guardian clearly point out, through the energetic and enthusiastic teaching and service that they alone can best render, to call the attention of the masses of this hemisphere to the Truth of this sacred Cause: “No greater demonstration can be given to the people of both continents of the youthful vitality and the vibrant power animating the life, and the institutions of the nascent Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.... Through such a participation the critics and enemies of the Faith, watching with varying degrees of skepticism and resentment, the evolutionary processes of the Cause of God and its institutions, can best be convinced of the indubitable truth that such a Cause is intensely alive, is sound to its very core, and its destinies in safe keeping.” (Advent of Divine Justice, p. 58.)
Summer Youth Project—East
Geyserville Training Session[edit]
There were almost seventy people in attendance at the Geyserville Youth Training Session, June 21-28, fifty-five youth between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five years.
There were two classes in the morning and two in the afternoon, with an inspirational program each evening. The group was divided in two and the teachers gave each class twice, thereby enabling all to have more direct participation.
Two of the most outstanding classes were the workshop in the afternoon and the classes on teaching children. In the workshop the youth played Bahá’í Password (using words found in Bahá’í Writings), Twenty Questions (using historical figures in the Faith), and took turns giving five-minute talks as if at a fireside meeting, having questions fired at them by the others as if they were seekers. This was most fruitful since the youth discovered that it is one thing to know the answers and quite another to be able to put them into words under pressure. One session was entirely devoted to a discussion in which they were able to ask the teacher questions for which they did not know the answers, but which they were often asked. The teacher answered the questions and gave references in the Writings for them.
The classes on how to teach children were varied and included three sessions in which the youth learned how to work with various craft materials and two sessions in which they discussed the psychology of teaching. They also answered a questionnaire containing three questions: 1) Why are you doing this? 2)What did you expect to find? 3) What do you hope to achieve? They then listened to a tape recording telling about the experiences of one youth on last year’s project, and they were then asked to answer the three questions
[Page 12]
Hand of the Cause William Sears with those who attended the Youth Project Training Session at Geyserville, California.
again in light of what they had heard. They also discussed the problems connected with teaching children
in under-privileged areas, and the special teaching
techniques involved.
Since the training week included a Feast Day, a Feast program was held the evening before. Instead of a business portion (since they were not a community) consultation was held on the meaning of prayer. It proved a high point of the week, full of spirit and reverence. Many of the youth remarked that for the first time they realized what the meaning of a Feast was. After the social portion everyone hiked up into the redwood grove above the campus for the evening devotional period, which greatly enhanced the beautiful spirit engendered by the Feast.
Another high point was the visit by Hand of the Cause William Sears and Robert Quigley.
One session proved to be more fruitful than expected. During the day each person was given a card on which to write down any question dealing with the Bahá’í standards of morality and rectitude of conduct which he was too shy to ask out loud or which had never been satisfactorily answered. These were placed in a box and in the evening separate consultations were held with the girls and the boys about the questions submitted. Three of the male teachers handled the boys’ session and three women handled that of the girls. After about an hour of full and frank discussion leaders were switched, the men speaking with the girls and the women with the boys. It was found that the consultation that took place was honest and direct in this less inhibiting atmosphere and many things were cleared up for the youth.
During the week the youth were given actual experience in door-to-door canvassing. They had two classes on the campus in which they learned the techniques and practiced with each other. They then obtained permission from a nearby local Bahá’í community to go door-to-door, inviting people to a public meeting to be held at Geyserville at the end of the week. They were then taken out in small groups over a period of two days. The responses received ranged all the way from gracious hospitality to open hostility, but they were not discouraged and the experience they received by actual practice was more valuable than a dozen classes on it could have been.
The feeling of unity on the campus was overwhelming. Everyone participated in the work of maintaining the school, and this seemed to add to the spirit. Of the four non-Bahá’í youth in attendance, two had made their declarations by the end of the week.
The youth who were to be involved in teaching Indians received no specialized training at the session. They went from Geyserville to Flagstaff, Arizona, where they received this training under the supervision of the American Indian Service Committee.
Those who were not going away from their homes on projects this year attended a special workshop on the “Spiritual Invasion Plan” and are well prepared to assist in initiating it in their own home communities.
The teachers who conducted the classes on the campus were: Mrs. Chris Faulconer, Mr. Harold Jackson, Mrs. Lisa Janti, Mrs. Joan Beck, Mrs. Anna Stevenson, Mrs. Barbara Cook, Mrs. Eileen Norman, Mr. Luis Palos, Mr. John Cook.
Summer Youth Project—West
Southeastern Summer School Emphasizes Teaching[edit]
The 1965 Southeastern Bahá’í Summer School was held from June 25 to July 3. As the days passed, the spirit animating those at the school became increasingly intense. By the end of the week, all were galvanized with the spirit of God and were prepared to carry the Message back to their homes.
Auxiliary Board members present included: William Maxwell, Beth McKenty, Albert James, Ellsworth Blackwell, and Jack McCants. At certain evening sessions they spoke of the Universal House of Justice and the Hands of the Cause, as well as of the duties of the Auxiliary Board.
The main emphasis of the summer school was on teaching. Ellsworth Blackwell was called upon several times in the evenings to speak of his experiences with mass conversion in Haiti. Beth McKenty, in her class on the Nine Year Plan, had the friends alternately in awe and tears with stories of confirmations in teaching. She emphasized that when teaching the Cause of God one should expect confirmations.
William Maxwell gave historic examples of teaching in his class on the Dawnbreakers referring to the deeds of “stainless purity” and “sublime heroism” performed by the spiritual ancestors of the believers today. The divine guidance and protection under which the Faith is constantly growing — as well as the fact that after every calamity in the Faith comes an accelerated march and victories — was stressed.
The other two classes were on “Guidance in the Conduct of Life,” taught by Terah Cowart-Smith and “Selections from Gleanings” by Albert James. Mrs. Smith’s class dealt with the concept of eliminating the ego from one’s motives, thereby making him a purer channel of the Will of God. Many beautiful quotations from the Writings were used. Albert James’ class gave a deeper appreciation of the endless treasures in Gleanings. This brought forth much good discussion among the friends. Both of these classes were also directed at proclaiming the Faith.
There was much opportunity for giving the Message during the week. Almost every evening session was attended by visitors from the Frogmore area. Among them were several youth, a couple of whom asked many questions. One morning a man wandered onto the school grounds. He said that he had read a book about the lost millennium (Thief in the Night) and wondered if the Bahá’ís would give him anything else to read. The lifeguard at the beach where many of the friends went in the afternoons attended the last evening program. Teaching trips into other parts of South Carolina and to Savannah were made by some of the Auxiliary Board members.
Visits were made to the homes of sick and elderly Bahá’ís. One long-time Bahá’í in the area who had been virtually forgotten, said that she had prayed for twenty-three days for something to happen — then some Bahá’ís from the summer school came to visit her. She wrote a poem that day, calling it Resurrection, and later attended sessions at the school, showing boundless enthusiasm.
On the last evening a tape was made of greetings and singing from the Southeastern Summer School to be taken by William Maxwell to Geyserville Summer School. When Mr. Maxwell left, all the friends gathered outside, waving and singing “Alláh-u-Abhá.” He shouted, “I’ve got to catch a plane now. You all teach.” All left Frogmore with the same assurance that had been given to the Letters of the Living: “Fix your gaze upon the invincible power of the Lord, your God ... and be assured of ultimate victory.”
Early Believer Honored[edit]
Family and Bahá’í friends who attended the June 8, 1965 dedication program of the Mary B. Martin School in Cleveland, Ohio are shown at the left. This public elementary school erected in 1963 was named for the mother of Lydia B. Martin and Sarah Martin Pereira (see account in BAHÁ’Í NEWS, March 1963, p. 15) and serves as a fitting living memorial to one who took an active part in civic and humanitarian affairs. She was the first Negro member of the Cleveland Board of Education, where she served from 1929 to 1939. The picture shows a portrait of Mrs. Martin in the background. She was active in the Bahá’í Faith from 1912 until her death in 1939 and her association with the Faith was given a prominent place in the newspaper stories at the time of the naming of the school in 1963 and at the recent dedication services in June, 1965.
[Page 14]
Mayor Frank Clapp receives tree from Miss Jill Christy and Auxiliary Board member Mr. Anthony Lease.
Beverly Hills Bahá’ís Present Tree to Public Library[edit]
In commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter, the Beverly Hills Bahá’í Community presented an Eriobotrya Japonica (Bronze Loquat) tree to the new public library on Wednesday, June 23d.
Mayor Frank Clapp accepted the tree on behalf of the City of Beverly Hills from Mr. Anthony Lease, Auxiliary Board member. Participating in the presentation was a Bahá’í Youth, Miss Jill Christy, twenty years old, who was born during the week that the United Nations Charter was signed in San Francisco.
Mr. Lease, in his presentation address, recalled the prophetic words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Who, when He addressed an audience in Sacramento during His historic visit in 1912, said:
“May the men of affairs in this democracy uphold the standard of international conciliation.... May the first flag of International Peace be upraised in this State.”
Representing the United Nations Association was Mrs. Robert G. Neumann, President of the Los Angeles Chapter and Mrs. Moyna Lansbury of the newly-formed Beverly Hills Unit.
Special guests were Consul General of the Dominican Republic Mrs. Blanche Diaz Pou, Consul General of Korea Mr. Kwang Soo Ahn, and Consul of Haiti Mr. Roland Coyard.
Bahá’ís Play Important Role in Human Relations Workshop for Youth[edit]
ANYTOWN ARIZONA is an educational workshop in human relations for high school youth at a camp setting wherein youth of diverse religious, social, racial, national and economic backgrounds, through supervised study, learn more about the ethnic groups that make up the American society. Self-government is practiced by election of the steering committee through which the youth participate in the workshop. Religious services are provided separately for Protestants, Catholics, Mormons and Bahá’ís.
The ninth annual program consisted of two sessions at the Sky-Y Camp, Prescott, Arizona, June 7-13 and 13-19, 1965, for high school freshmen, and for sophomore and junior students, respectively. Enrollment was limited to 150 students selected by high school faculties or sponsoring agencies for their leadership qualities, their scholastic achievement and their interest in human relations. Among the twenty organizations sponsoring Anytown Arizona are the Red Cross, Camp Fire Girls, Girl Scouts, B’nai B’rith, National Conference of Christians and Jews, the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints, Phoenix Indian School, and the Bahá’í Assembly of Phoenix.
For six successive years, Mrs. Nancy Phillips, Bahá’í of Phoenix, has served as one of the advisors. This year the Bahá’í advisors were: Mrs. Phillips for the first session, and Mrs. Joan Koshbin of Tucson and Mr. Phil Lucas for the second. Janet Bechtold and Robert Gulick, Jr., Bahá’í youth of Phoenix, attended as delegates to the first session, and George Danenburg of Tucson at the second. John Cook of Glendale was a special guest on several occasions, providing musical entertainment.
The participation of Bahá’í advisors involved the regular duties of all other advisors, i.e., program planning, discussion leading, and general counselling, plus special ones which included participation in panel discussions in which the teachings of the Faith were presented, and the holding of a Bahá’í worship service during each session. There were many opportunities for discussion of the Faith as eager campers found many answers to their searching questions on inter-racial and inter-religious relations. Since then a number of young people have expressed their interest in the Faith by attending firesides in Arizona communities.
The long-range involvement of the Bahá’ís in this program, extending over a period of six years and enhanced this year by the sponsorship of “Anytown” by the Phoenix Bahá’í Assembly along with other Phoenix organizations, has opened many doors to participation in inter-racial and inter-religious activities of a very worthy nature. It can safely be said that Bahá’í contributions to the Anytown program have created an indelibly favorable impression of the Faith on the minds of hundreds of both young and adult leaders across the state.
[Page 15]
Readers for the Bahá’í worship service held on the
opening day of the Anytown, Arizona workshop. Bahá’í
participant shown is Mrs. Nancy Phillips, second from
left. The young man second from right is a Navajo student from the Phoenix Indian school and a counsellor
on the Anytown staff.
Staff members planning program of religious discussion, always the most popular subject at Anytown. Participants shown represent (seated left to right) Protestant, Bahá’í, Jewish and Buddhist faiths and (standing)
Mormon and Catholic.
News Briefs[edit]
On Friday, June 11, 1965, the friends of the Los Angeles Bahá’í Community enjoyed an evening of reminiscences about ‘Abdu’l-Bahá by Ramona Allen Brown. She recalled the visits she had with Him during His trip to California, and she related many details of these visits. Mrs. Brown recalled the talks He gave to a group of young girls and their happiness in studying the Teachings. She recounted that when she and her father, who was a physician, were invited to visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, He spoke about healing and why it was necessary to use physical medicine and surgery with the spiritual power of prayer to achieve it. At another time ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke of the “implements” to be used in teaching which are severance, love of God, knowledge of God, endeavor, praiseworthy attributes, and eloquence. In another talk to this group He said, “If you would achieve Divine Confirmations you must teach.”
This was an evening of joy for the friends and it was especially noteworthy that there were four generations
The Mayor of San Mateo, California, handing to Mrs.
Marilyn Raubitschek, Bahá’í, the proclamation he issued for support of Race Unity Day.
Approximately 65 persons attended the Race Unity Day
meeting sponsored by the Bahá’í communities of Colorado Springs and Suburban Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Viewing the poster advertising the meeting are: (l. to
r.) Mrs. Joan Miranda; Mrs. Les Davis; Sgt. Howard
Thomas; Mayor Harry Hoth of Colorado Springs. Mayor
Hoth signed a proclamation for Race Unity Day.
[Page 16]
of Bahá’ís in Mrs. Brown’s family. It was evident that
the people attending this meeting, especially the
youth, were moved by hearing stories from a person
who had been in the presence of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
The tenth anniversary of the passing of Mary McLeod Bethune, well known Negro leader and founder of Bethune-Cookman College was commemorated in Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Miami, Florida on June 27, 1965. The guest speaker was Mr. Jack McCants, Bahá’í Auxiliary Board member. His subject was “The Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man” and in covering this theme he showed that Bahá’ís share with those paying tribute to Mrs. Bethune the concern for brotherhood, justice and the fulfillment of the oneness of mankind. Mrs. Toby Emmanuel, Bahá’í, introduced Mr. McCants and read a Bahá’í prayer. The Bahá’í speakers were very well received by an audience of about 200 people, most of whom had probably not heard of the Faith before and a few of whom have subsequently attended Bahá’í meetings.
BAHA'I IN THE NEWS[edit]
Israel on $5 a Day a book by Joel Lieber, published by Arthur Frommer, Inc., New York in 1964 carries on page 137 a reference to the Shrine of the Báb and the Bahá’í Gardens in a paragraph headed “Bahá’í Temple.” In addition to giving directions how to reach the Bahá’í Shrines the article states: “Haifa’s most impressive sightseeing attractions are the splendid Persian Gardens and Bahá’í Shrines.... The immaculate, majestic Bahá’í gardens ... are a reposeful, aesthetic memorial to the founders of this Faith.... Bahá’ís believe in the brotherhood of all men, a common world language, and the unity of all religions.... All the beautiful grounds that you see were planned by Shoghi Effendi, the recently-deceased Guardian of the Faith.”
The Albuquerque Journal for July 3 carries an 18 column inch article on the Bahá’í Faith under the title “Growing Bahá’í Faith Holds Key Conviction in Man’s Basic Unity.” The article gives an accurate account of the Faith based on interviews with local believers. This newspaper has a circulation of over 40,000 and is the most widely read paper in the state.
The Brown Texan published monthly in Fort Worth, Texas carries a two page article about the Bahá’í Faith in its issue for July, 1965. The account shows a picture of the members of the local Spiritual Assembly of Fort Worth as well as of the House of Worship in Wilmette. Giving a brief account of the basic Bahá’í teachings the article tells also of the establishment and incorporation of the local assembly in Fort Worth, of the local teaching program and of the establishment of the Faith in 1700 other centers in the United States. The World Center in Haifa with its shrines and gardens is also mentioned.
Calendar of Events[edit]
- FEASTS
- September 8 — ‘Izzat (Might)
- September 27 — Mashíyyat (Will)
- PROCLAMATION EVENT
- September 19 — World Peace Day
- U.S. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY MEETINGS
- September 3, 4, 5, 6
|
National Bahá’í Addresses
Please Address Mail Correctly! National Bahá’í Administrative Headquarters: National Treasurer: Make Checks Payable to: National Bahá’í Fund Bahá’í Publishing Trust: Make Checks Payable to: Bahá’í Publishing Trust Bahá’í News: |
Baha’i House of Worship[edit]
- Daily
- 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (Entire building)
- Sundays
- 3:30 to 4:10 p.m.
- Sunday, September 19
- 4:15 p.m.
BAHÁ’Í NEWS is published for circulation among Bahá’ís only by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, as a news organ reporting current activities of the Bahá’í world community.
BAHÁ’Í NEWS is edited by an annually appointed Editorial Committee: Mrs. Sylvia Parmelee, Managing Editor; Mrs. Eunice Braun, International Editor; Miss Charlotte Linfoot, National Spiritual Assembly Representative.
Material must be received by the twentieth of the second month preceding date of issue. Address: Bahá’í News Editorial Office, 110 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A. 60091.
Change of address should be reported directly to National Bahá’í Office. 112 Linden Avenue. Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A.
